WOW! WOW! WOW! What a game. What a tournament. Argentina have won the World Cup. Messi has won the World Cup. Sadly, France have lost. Argentina vs France was probably one of the greatest matches to watch. Players from both these teams should give themselves a pat on the back for playing such lovely football throughout the whole tournament.
**Firstly, what a game.**
As a neutral fan, the game certainly had me on the edge of my seat. It was a brilliant football match. One that will be talked about for many many years to come. From Argentina going into the second half with a 2-0 lead. Mbappe “single handedly” dealing with Argentina so the game could go to extra time. Then the dreaded penalties. This game was amazing. One must have surely thought that 90 minutes and extra time wouldn’t be enough to seperate those two sides. And just know that if it takes penalties to crown a World Cup winner, then those 120 minutes or more were the toughest.
**A legend at 24?**
Argentina might have won the World Cup, but that doesn’t mean we should forget Kylian Mbappe’s heroics, and what he’s achieved for France so far. One could supposedly say that he carried France till the very end. Mbappe, became the first player since 1966, to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. The only difference is that in 1966, when England’s Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick, England won the World Cup. That didn’t happen for France three days ago in Qatar. It really is hard to think about how a player can go on to score three goals and not win the World Cup. But, the Frenchman did go on to win the Golden Boot; making him the first Frenchman to win the award in 64 years. He ended the tournament with eight goals and two assists to his name. He still has a lot of football to play domestically and internationally. He still has a lot more goals to score and assists to provide. Some people have even gone as far as saying that he’s the mini G.O.A.T. All in all, there’s a lot more “Mbappe magic” we’re going to see in the next few years. I just hope that Argentina’s victory, doesn’t overshadow Mbappe’s performance throughout the final and the World Cup as a whole.
**The man of the moment**
Lionel Messi. 2022 Golden Boot winner. What a player he is. He was outstanding throughout the whole tournament (even though some people had their doubts). He was set to retire from international football after the World Cup, but he made a shock announcement right after winning the World Cup. He stated that he will not be retiring from international football anytime soon. Which begs the question: Would he have still retired if he hadn’t won the World Cup? We don’t know. But what we do know is that Messi is now a World Cup winner, and he is one of the best if not the best player in world football right now. Hopefully he doesn’t retire anytime soon because he still has a lot to offer.
Felicidades a Messi y Argentina!
What a World Cup! The teams were amazing. The fans were great. The results were unpredictable. I mean, what more could we have asked for?
SPORTS ECHO 